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Im looking for some people to run fordyce trail with me on the weekend of the 16-17th. I can leave friday or saturday it really does not matter to me. Ive never done fordyce before. I do not have a winch that is why i want another person. My rig is capable of this trail just no winch. Anyone interested in going?

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[QUOTE=beater82;10779355]You should try patriotism. That stuff can fuck some shit up.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=DillWeed;9324924]Kid... you are looking for a dance club and you stumbled into an old school tavern full of mean drunks...Run for your life.[/QUOTE]
1990 yj, 44/60, d300, howell FI- sold

I have a 1st gen toy bright orange with full exo cage on 39 iroks you will not miss me
See you up there will be camping at Fordyce Lake droping in Friday to Meadow and Saturday to Eagles Lake stop by some

i think i may have to go the next weekend... my girl might not get off from work until 5:00pm on friday. I know there we be tons of people on the con so i think its safer to head up there this weekend. As ive never run fordyce i dont think i should go by myself.

__________________
[QUOTE=beater82;10779355]You should try patriotism. That stuff can fuck some shit up.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=DillWeed;9324924]Kid... you are looking for a dance club and you stumbled into an old school tavern full of mean drunks...Run for your life.[/QUOTE]
1990 yj, 44/60, d300, howell FI- sold

hey guys i know there are winch hills on this trail but do you really need a winch? or they called winch hills because rigs running 33s need winches? If that is the case i might run fordyce this weekend and meet you guys up at the lake.

__________________
[QUOTE=beater82;10779355]You should try patriotism. That stuff can fuck some shit up.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=DillWeed;9324924]Kid... you are looking for a dance club and you stumbled into an old school tavern full of mean drunks...Run for your life.[/QUOTE]
1990 yj, 44/60, d300, howell FI- sold

Ill be be there in my 02 tacoma on 37s. Going in thru Cisco Grove and should be to the creek setting up camp by 9-10pm

Did you live on Moyer by chance? I think I've seen that truck before. Sweet rig by the way. We're headed to Committee around 9:30 or 10 am Saturday morning with 5 rigs (3 Toys, 2 Jeeps).

Quote:

Originally Posted by offroadjunkie

hey guys i know there are winch hills on this trail but do you really need a winch? or they called winch hills because rigs running 33s need winches? If that is the case i might run fordyce this weekend and meet you guys up at the lake.

My personal theory behind Winch Hill designation starts with guys running these in flat fenders. My flatty likes to pull the front wheels off the ground on any sort of steep ledge. My winch keeps the front wheels planted and my pants clean. I hypothesize this is why they are called winch hills.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by MtnYota

It sucks I took a dump earlier, now I'll never know if that roll would have caused me to crap my pants

hey guys i know there are winch hills on this trail but do you really need a winch? or they called winch hills because rigs running 33s need winches? If that is the case i might run fordyce this weekend and meet you guys up at the lake.

I would hope with your setup you wouldn't need a winch. The only thing I have used mine for in the last 4 years was to roll people back over wich is almost every trip.

The two hardest places are WH1 and WH3. WH3 is only because I'm so wide (89").

No I'm going with fordfascist, MtnYota, and diablo169. We all do good with our rigs.

Ah right on. Do you all live in CHico?

If you guys come thru the comittee crossing (ive never been `100% on that but isnt that the creek crossing thats between 2 and 3???) then I am sure you will see us.

Quote:

Originally Posted by offroadjunkie

i think i may have to go the next weekend... my girl might not get off from work until 5:00pm on friday. I know there we be tons of people on the con so i think its safer to head up there this weekend. As ive never run fordyce i dont think i should go by myself.

I wont be leaving Chico till 5pm tomorrow. You can roll in with us if you want. We will be camping at the creek crossing on the cisco grove entrance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FordFascist

Did you live on Moyer by chance? I think I've seen that truck before. Sweet rig by the way. We're headed to Committee around 9:30 or 10 am Saturday morning with 5 rigs (3 Toys, 2 Jeeps).

No I live off floral right by PV. Im sure youve seen it around, seems like a lot of people i dont know have. I also work at Wittmeier Auto Center... maybe youve seen it over by there.

You guys should just come in tomorrow night with us. Could be fun. Its me and 3 other yotas. I dont know, just an idea anyway.

There's a good bit of history to Fordyce as a wagon trail and mining track but it crew over and nearly disappeared from lack of use... the way I heard it was that years ago Sierra Trek was held elsewhere, and when scouting for a new location, they heard about this trail and re-opened it, in conjunction with the Forest Service. Those guys drove flat-fenders (it was a bit before anything else was available!) and they named the 5 winch hills.

Times have changed, but I have seen some pretty tough rigs broken down and winching some of those hills... have a blast and be careful of high water.

There's a good bit of history to Fordyce as a wagon trail and mining track but it crew over and nearly disappeared from lack of use... the way I heard it was that years ago Sierra Trek was held elsewhere, and when scouting for a new location, they heard about this trail and re-opened it, in conjunction with the Forest Service. Those guys drove flat-fenders (it was a bit before anything else was available!) and they named the 5 winch hills.

Times have changed, but I have seen some pretty tough rigs broken down and winching some of those hills... have a blast and be careful of high water.

There was a great story about the re-opening of the Fordyce Trail and the history of Sierra Trek in the 40th anniversary Trek program. A man maned Ed Dunkley (don't they have an award named after that guy?) and his friend Lew Siepert did some research and decided to try and find an old wagon trail. They talked to Jack Enal who's father was a butcher in Truckee in the 1880's. It took five years to find the whole thing and the rest is history. Well the first part is history too I guess!

The first Sierra Trek was October 7-8, 1967 and it was on the Fordyce Trail. The next year it was moved to Mormon Emigrant Trail at Carson Pass. In '69 it was at Grouse Ridge and in 1970 it was based in Church Meadows and used the Gold Valley and Snake trails among others. Trek moved back to Fordyce in 1971 and has been there even since.

I don't think this stuff is copyrighted but I'll check with Cal to see if they would mind if I scan it and post it on the PB.

Fact: Fordyce was the name of a man who lived during the gold rush era. It was reported he was a builder of water flumes for mining purposes and had a ranch at Fordyce Lake. Well, I don't think the lake was actually there at the time. It came later.

Fact: In 1976 the Dirty Dozen Jeep Club introduced the famous "Shackle Grabber" drink.

Fact: It wasn't until 1986 that WInch Hill #5 was named and added to the run.

If the bar comes back to Trek we'll have to do some research and reintroduce that bad boy!

Fact: Fordyce was the name of a man who lived during the gold rush era. It was reported he was a builder of water flumes for mining purposes and had a ranch at Fordyce Lake. Well, I don't think the lake was actually there at the time. It came later.

The idea of harnessing the water of Bear River dates from the 1870's. But it took the right people and the right times to put it together.

First was the demand for water for washing gold. Fordyce Dam was begun in 1873 as the main storage reservoir for the South Yuba Canal Company. The site was chosen because of the narrow gorge and broad meadow up stream to store the water. In this meadow were three ranches. One was owned by Justus Fordyce who had already built a ditch and had begun to control water on a small scale.

Upon trying to complete the dam in 1874, several problems arose. The dam, built of rock with an outlet pipe and sliding gate, reached a height of 20 feet and leaked badly. Local dirt did not have enough clay to seal the rock face of the dam. Resources were limited.

Enter John Spaulding. Spaulding came by steamer from Canton, N. Y. in 1853. He did some gold mining near Oroville and was aware of the water storage in relation to gold panning and started building ditches in that area. He went on to drive stage for the California Stage Co. from Nevada City to Sacramento and from Folsom to Dutch Flat from 1856 to 1862. Then he drove for Wells Fargo from Placerville to Virginia City and three years later was in charge of Wells Fargo operations between Sacramento and the Comstock in Nevada. The completion of the Central Pacific railroad ended his position in 1868.

Spaulding’s friend, Alvinza Hayward, employed him at his Polar Star and Southern Cross mines. Hearing of the problems at Fordyce, Hayward loaned Spaulding to the project so he could use his knowledge of water control. Spaulding took charge of the dam construction and re-organized and enlarged the whole operation. Rock from nearby quarries was brought to the dam by train and the rails left in the dam at different levels for reinforcement.

By 1875, there were 145 men working on the dam and by seasons end there was 65 feet of water behind the dam. The next few years, Hayward ran into financial problems and dry years. In the summer of 1877, Warner Van Norden of New York, (later to become President of the National Bank of North America), a friend of Hayward’s, came to look over his property and help with financing. As a result, in 1880, the South Yuba Water and Mining Company bought the South Yuba Canal Company and the Nevada Hydraulic Mining Company and Spaulding headed the new organizations. By 1882, the dam reached 96 feet, the largest dam in California at that time.

Meadow Lake, ( due north of Fordyce Lake) the former site of Summit City, drains into Fordyce. This town had a population of 4,000 during the gold rush. In the fall of 1866, a heavy snowstorm panicked the residents (the memory of the Donner Party was fresh on their minds) and they left without their possessions, even leaving bread baking in the oven. Most never returned.

Lake Fordyce was also the site of the first long distance telephone. In 1878, two years after Bell got his patent, the South Yuba Canal Company strung wires along 184 miles of its waterways to their headquarters.

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